Charles XII and his Dalecarlians

Charles XII leading his Dalecarlians into battle.

All minis and flag from Warfare Miniatures.

This week I finished up the C-In-C command base for the Swedish army we’ll be fielding at next weekend’s Lincon gaming convention in Linköping Sweden. As we are hosting a Great Northern War participation game based on the Battle of Holowczyn 1708, I thought it would be appropriate choosing a scene from that dramatic fight as inspiration. 

Another great Cederström painting of Charles XII.

The warrior king always wore a simple, dark blue "Karoliner" uniform into battle.

The Swedish warrior king, Charles XII, had a taste for battle and enjoyed leading from the very front, sword in hand. During the Battle of Holowczyn, he personally led three battalions of his Guard and the Dalecarlian Regiment over the Vabitsch River and into an initial flanking sneak attack on the Russian camp.

Portrait of Charles XII.

Took inspiration here when adopting a similar hairline to the miniature.

This dramatic scene is what I’ve tried to capture here, on the C-in-C base. King Charles XII, pointing with his sword, directing men from the Dalecarlian regiment forward into the fight. Currently there is no really good Charles XII miniature available in 28mm, so I built this one out of parts from three different Warfare minis, filing away the hairline on the head to resemble Charles’ actual hairstyle.

A view from the opposite site, showing the conversion I did

to create a Charles XII miniature.

To add a little drama and further allude to Charles’ special relationship with his Dalecarlians, I’ve posed him here waving the Dalecarlian regimental flag, as he takes a gallant stand at the front line.

The special relationship between the Swedish kings and the Dalecarlian people has deep roots, going all the way back to when Gustav Vasa founded the Swedish Crown with the help and encouragement of the Dalecarlians in the 16th Century. Through the ages of the Swedish warrior kings and imperial expansion, the tenacious and proud people of the hilly woods and lush farmland in Dalecarlia have been the indicator of national spirit, whether it was for or against the king and his wars.

Gustav Vasa addressing the Dalecarlians in Mora, 

leading to the rebellion that would finally overthrow foreign suppression, 

and found the Swedish Crown in the 16th century.

This special position, perhaps at the very heart of all things Swedish, naturally reflected on the morale and fighting spirit of the Dalecarlian Regiment. This infantry unit was a personal favourite of Charles XII, and often given the most dangerous and demanding tasks in a given battle – simply because the king trusted the Dalecarlians to get the job done.

The beautiful and picturesque Dalecarlia region.

Holowczyn was no exception, and the Dalecarlians preformed the risky sneak attack with great discipline and vigor, resulting in the Swedish forces shocking their adversaries and gaining the upper hand and initiative for the rest of the battle.

A view from behind, offering a good look at the Swedish "Karpus".

The special soft felt hat, worn by many Swedish units during the Great Northern War.

The Karpus could be bent down over the ears, as protection during the cold northern winters.

One year later at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the Dalecarlians would once again be dealt a most dangerous and demanding task. They were to form the spearhead of an suicidal attack on a well defended Russian redoubt system. Having been given a clear order to attack and conquer the redoubts, the regimental commander, Roos, ordered attack upon fruitless attack, until the regiment was canistered to pieces and all but annihilated. 

Swedish troops storming the Russian redoubts at Poltava.

The destruction of the Dalecarlian regiment and the monumental Swedish defeat at Poltava would also signal the fall of the Swedish Empire, and the rise of a new one. The Russian Empire under Tsar Peter I.

Thank you very much for reading!

P.S: Did I mention my fiancé is from Dalecarlia ;0)

Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld

Field Marshal Rehnskiöld personally lead 

decisive cavalry charges in many of Charles XII's battles.

Our local wargaming club, Little Wars Stockholm, is participating in this year’s Lincon gaming convention in Linköping. We’re hosting a participation table with scenarios from the Battle of Holowczyn 1708 – one of the Swedish army’s finest victories, and one of the more interesting battles from The Great Northern War.

Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld.

1651 - 1722.

Holowczyn was fought between the Royal Swedish Army and the Tsar’s Russian Army under leadership of Prince Repnin, and was part of the Swedish ”march on Moscow”, that ended with a detour into Ukraine and the fateful defeat of the Swedish army at Poltava about a year after Holowczyn. 

But in 1708, things were still looking bright, and the young Charles XII was the dashing warrior king, admired by the courts of Europe and who’s courage was praised by Voltaire in his great work on the Swedish king. But, to become a successful warrior king, you need some good generals.

The Swedish victory at Narva 1700.

One of Sweden’s finest cavalry officers was Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld, who started his career under Charles XII’s father back in the 1670ies, during the Scanian War. Rehnskiöld was born into a noble family coming from Swedish Pomerania, and by the time of the Scanian War and the Battle of Lund in 1676, he held an officer’s rank with the Dowager Queen’s Cavalry Regiment.

I've used a cavalry officer from 

Warfare Miniatures range to depict the gallant Rehnskiöld.

The young Rehnskiöld showed great promise, leading several cavalry charges that broke the Danish formations. After Lund Rehnskiöld was endorsed for further promotion by Charles XI. In 1697 Charles XI died. Three years later in 1700, the Swedish Empire, now ruled by his son the only 18 years old King Charles XII, would find itself encircled by an alliance of Denmark, Russia and Poland-Saxony, bent on attacking and dividing the Swedish territories, now that the country was run by a young and weak king – or so they thought. 

Swedish cavalry and infantry resting while on their 

non-stop campaigns from 1700 - 1721.

Painting by Cederström.

War was declared and time had come for the great struggle for power in the North. The Swedish army, arguably one of Europe’s finest at that time, faced the united forces of Russia, Denmark and Poland-Saxony. At his side Charles XII had the now experienced Rehnskiöld, who would become the king’s favored general, and in many ways his teacher in the art of war.

With Rehnskiöld often leading charges in person, 

this miniature had the look and animation I was searching for.

Rehnskiöld would prove a rock of determination and experience in battles such as, Narva, Fraustadt and Holowczyn. In the latter battle, Rehnskiöld –now almost 60 years old, would personally lead the Swedish cavalry in a dashing charge through the Russian camp, to fight off arriving Russian reinforcements. This timely action by Rehnskiöld and the valiant King’s cavalry guard – Drabanterna – could be credited for the happy outcome at Holowczyn. 

Tracing the long campaign of Charles XII 

from Narva to his ominous defeat at Poltava.

However, the old and experienced Rehnskiöld would finally succumb to pressure during the battle of Poltava, where he –with the King wounded – had effective overall command. In the pre-battle march-up things got tangled. Confusion and unclear orders resulted in losing the advantage of surprise, which would prove too costly during the ensuing battle. 

Charles XII fought in the front line, and was wounded on more than one occasion.

At Poltava he would be carried around the battlefield on a stretcher by guardsmen.

With the historically almost invincible Swedish army beaten at Poltava, and the dark blue “karoliners” broken and in full retreat, Rehnskiöld turned his horse around and rode back into the thick of the fight. Perhaps the old warrior was seeking a honorable death in this time of epic defeat. The result was captivity in Russia, where he was held from 1709 until 1718.

Example of a Swedish cavalryman of the Karoliner period.

The breast plate was unusual and only found in a few elite units.

Returning to Sweden in 1718, he loyally followed Charles XII on his last and fateful campaign against Danish ruled Norway. Rehnskiöld eventually died in 1722, 70 years old.

Thank you very much for reading!

"My blood belongs to the Emperor" - General Lasalle

Lasalle with his pipe.

The figure is from Front Rank.

For this week’s blog post I’m leaving the trenches of Verdun, traveling only a short distance east to Metz, the birthplace of the legendary “Hussar General” – Lasalle.

Early Life

Born on May 10th 1775 into a family of minor nobility, Antoine-Charles-Louis showed a flair for the military trade from an early age. Already at 14 he had joined the local regiment and merited a rank of Second Lieutenant. 

Lasalle leading the 5th into battle.

When the Revolution threw France into turmoil, Lasalle was in 1792 stripped of command due to the idealistic view of the revolutionaries, wanting to wash out all the old aristocratic officers. Lasalle was however not deterred, and took this setback with great calm. He moved to Paris and enlisted in the revolutionary army as a private.

Campaign in Italy

In 1793 Lasalle joined the Army of the North on its campaign in Italy, and his conduct soon earned him advancement in the ranks. He was present at the Battle of Rivoli, where he proved to be beyond fearless, charging down and breaking an complete Austrian regiment with only 26 chasseurs at his side. The Italian campaign thus saw Lasalle’s star rise, and Napoleon personally asked the young cavalry officer to join him for the Invasion of Egypt in 1798.

Lasalle smoking his pipe.

The Invasion of Egypt

At the Battle of the Pyramids Lasalle made yet another daring charge, storming a garrisoned village at the head of no more than 60 horsemen. The wild charge bore home, and Lasalle continued his advance down an unknown path amongst the Giza Pyramids, offering him an opportunity to cut off the enemy, and serving them on a plate to Napoleon. Greatly impressed, Napoleon promoted Lasalle to Lieutenant Colonel of the 22nd Horse Chasseurs and the 7th Hussars.

Lasalle at the head of his brigade.

Lasalle would soon repay Napoleon for this advancement, when he saved the life of Davout. The General had been cornered by mamulukes at the Battle of Remedieh and was about to be cut down, when Lasalle dashed in, chopped both hands off the mameluke in front of Davout, broke his own sword over the head of Osman Bey, but kept on fighting by picking up swords and guns from the battlefield around him. The mamelukes eventually broke, and Lasalle had once again proven to have a cool head in the heat of action.

The Libertine Lasalle

Lasalle’s passions extended further than the battlefield. He consumed life in great breaths, or should I say in big gulps. A true light cavalryman he founded the “Society of Alcoholics”. Reputedly Lasalle drank, swore and was quite the libertine. After a night of heavy drinking, Lasalle proudly asked Paul Thiébault to count all the empty wine bottles. Thiébault remarked: “Do you want to kill yourself”? Lasalle answered: “My friend, any hussar who is not dead by thirty is a blackguard”

The libertine in a quiet moment of reflection.

No stranger to the passions of the flesh either, Lasalle had a long standing affair with Minister of War, Berthier’s wife Joséphine. When Berthier finally had enough and divorced Joséphine, Lasalle was quick to propose to her. To help out with the costs for the wedding, Napoleon gave 200.000 Francs to Lasalle. When the two men met up only a week after, Napoleon was keen to know how the planning was coming along. Lasalle remarked that he had spent the money on old debt and the rest he had gambled.

A view at the sabretasche and the dolman.

Normally this kind of insolence would have seen any other soldier stripped from rank and scorned, but Napoleon simply gave Lasalle another 200.000 Francs, and told him to get on with it. When Napoleon’s astonished staff asked why this Lasalle got such a soft treatment, Napoleon quietly answered: “It only takes a stroke of a pen to create a prefect, but it takes twenty years to make a Lasalle".

The “Brigade Infernale”

At the famous battle of Austerlitz, Lasalle won the admiration of Murat, who then put him in command of a Light Cavalry Brigade consisting of the 5th and 7th Hussars. Under the leadership of Lasalle, this brigade would become known to history as The Hellish Brigade – Brigade Infernale.

Detail: Lasalle raising his pipe signaling the charge. 

At the Battle of Jena, Lasalle and his brigade captured the King of Prussia’s bodyguard, and pursued the Prince of Hohenlohe off the battlefield at sword’s point. Later during the Prussian campaign, Lasalle and his small contingent of hussars reached the fortified city of Stettin. The well defended city had a garrison of 5.000 men and 281 guns, but Lasalle calmly demanded their surrender stating: “If, by 8 a.m. you have not surrendered, the town will be bombarded by our artillery, stormed by 50,000 men, the garrison will be put to the sword and the town will be plundered during twenty-four hours"

The commander of Stetting believed the message from Lasalle, and surrendered his entire force to the little group of French cavalrymen. This feat made Lasalle more famous than ever, and upon hearing of the city’s surrender, Napoleon wrote to Murat: "If your Light Cavalry captures fortified towns, I’ll have to discharge my Engineer Corps and have my heavy artillery melted down"

Lasalle punishing his brigade at Golymin.

But Lasalle could be brisk as well as dashing. During the Battle of Golymin, the Hellish Brigade was charging a battery of 15 Russian guns. As they closed in on the enemy the fire on the horsemen intensified. A big portion of the brigade broke, and they fled to the rear. The furious Lasalle spurred his horse and pursued his fleeing men. Catching up with them he screamed “Halt!” - the men obeyed their enraged commander and stopped their wild stampede. Lasalle quietly brought the brigade back to the front line, positioned it across from the Russian guns, and told them to hold ground. Lasalle rode forward to a position 20 paces in front of his men, and calmly took the murderous fire from the Russian battery. The brigade accepted this punishment with no further disobedience. 

The final battle and immortality

On July 5th 1809, Lasalle fought what was to be his last battle at Wagram.

On the morning of the battle he had a strange feeling, that the fight before him might be his last. When he opened his baggage he found his pipe broken and a wine glass that his wife used to be crushed. The passionate Lasalle read this as an omen of death to come.

He then wrote two letters, one to the Emperor and one to his wife.

The final charge.

Later during the battle of Wagram, while charging at the head of the 1st Cuirassiers, Lasalle was shot between the eyes, dying instantly. The farewell letter to his wife became famous. The last part of it reads: “"Mon coeur est à toi, mon sang à l'Empereur, ma vie à l'honneur" (My heart belongs to you, my blood to the Emperor, my life to honor)

The dashing libertine general had almost kept his word. He died 34 years old.

Thank you very much for reading!

Happy New Year – projects for 2015

An indication of what's to come in 2015.

"Der Alte Fritz" - Minden Miniatures.

This final blog post of 2014 will be dedicated to a brief look into the hobby year to come. 

These past few weeks have given me plenty of time to index my projects, creating an overview of which projects should be laid down, projects that need to be finished and also reflection on projects I’d like to start in the foreseeable future.

The father of Prussian two-front-war.

Frederick the Great.

At the same time I’ve had a look through my History/Hobby devoted library and chosen a few titles that I felt deserved a read, and would help create additional inspiration for the painting projects in the pipe line. Enough said – here is the list:

PAINTING PROJECTS FOR 2015

French infantry skirmishing 1870.

The Franco-Prussian War (Continued in 2015): This collection is at the very heart of my historical interest. I love this period of German unification and the drama on the French side with the collapse of the Empire, the Commune and the Republican struggle to continue the war against the occupation. It’s a conflict that casts long shadows all the way up to 1914, and perhaps beyond. I’m planning to extend my collection in 28mm, and dare I say, I’ll be making an announcement soon that will interest anyone who is into this period.

Prussian Grenadier, Seven Years War.

Minden Miniatures.

The Seven Years War (Newcomer for 2015): This is the period that got me into painting miniatures. As a young teenager I started out painting Revell’s 1/72 SYW plastics. The time has come to close the circle so to speak, and revive this old interest of mine. I’ve chosen Minden Miniatures' range for the project, with compliments to Richard Ansell’s amazing sculpts, which are in my opinion the finest out there in terms of anatomical and proportionate sculpting. My good friends Jesper and Rickard have a big SYW collection in 28, so by adopting their basing system I hope to add to their ranks and thus get to game quite fast with the minis.

The "Skagerrak" will rage on in 2015

More ships and even Zeppeliners to come!

WW1 Naval – The Battle of Jutland (Continued in 2015): Yes, my love for the crisply sculpted iron clads from the shipyards at GHQ has not diminished, and the collection for this epic sea battle will be expanded in the year to come with additions such as The Seydlitz, The König but also some of Scheer’s Zeppliners will be appearing over the horizon of the North Sea.

Charging Swedish Horse Guards - The Great Northern War.

The Great Northern War (Continued in 2015): This project was started in late 2014, and will be continued in the year to come building on the amazing GNW products coming out of Warfare Miniatures. This collection will be painted as part of a larger club project, anchored in our Stockholm Wargaming Club with participants such as Jesper, Michael and many other skilled people involved. We’re aiming at the Russian Campaign of 1708-09 with battles as Holowczyn, Lesnaya and Poltava as possible games to be explored.

"Nach Paris!" German WW1 Infantryman.

The Great War in 28 mm (Newcomer for 2015): For me this period is a continuation of the epic struggle between France and Germany in 1870-71, and naturally I need to explore this now with the centennial for many of these behemoth battles ringing in with the new year. I plan to focus on the early part of the war with The Battle of the Frontiers, The Battle of Mons and The Battle of the Marne as my primary targets. I will probably mix Mutton Chop Miniatures and Great War Miniatures for this project, paired up with some good books on the subject.

The St. Petersburg Grenadiers paced forward to meet the French.

Borodino 1812 (Continued in 2015): I will continue my work on this the most beautifully uniformed of all wargaming periods. I look very much forward to painting up my Great Redoubt, bought last year from Grandmanner in cast resin, and to continue my work on the wonderful miniatures from Victrix and Perry – Oh, by the way I saw Victrix will be releasing French artillery soon. An evident buy for Salute in April I imagine.

20th Massachusetts - a.k.a The Harvard Regiment.

ACW – Army of the Potomac (Continued in 2015): In 2013 I painted a playable sized Army of Northern Virginia in 28mm for used with the Black Powder rules, all arms included and mayor commanders now finished with the addition of Stonewall. For 2015 I need to switch North and continue my work on the boys in blue. This labour of love will be accompanied by the excellent Pod Cast on the American Civil War hosted by Rich and Tracy. I strongly recommend this Pod Cast for anyone interested in some audible entertainment while painting – they do an amazing and very detailed job. One could say the are the Shelby Footes of Civil War Podcasting.

BOOKS ON MY NIGHTSTAND IN 2015

The House of Krupp, by Peter Batty. Published 1966 by MS & W Ltd London

During the Second World War the RAF unloaded 36.000 tons (!) of bombs on a specific area in Essen no larger than 8 square kilometers. Within this area lay the Krupp works.  A symbol of sublime German engineering, but also of feared and legendary guns such as “Long Max” and “Big Bertha” the House of Krupp offers an insight to the family behind the name, tracing their roots back the 16th century. The Krupp conglomerate was destined to rise to its zenith during the industrial age under Bismarck, the Emperor and later the Third Reich. It’s a fascinating, personal and tragic story of the family, the guns and the business all intertwined into the politics of a turbulent age for Germany and consequently the World. It’s a book I very much look forward to reading.

The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71, Volume 2. After Sedan. By Quintin Barry, published 2006 by Helion & Company.

This brick of a book offers 520 pages on the second part of the war, which saw the formation of a new French Republic in the wake of the Emperor’s capture at Sedan. This new republic’s first act as a government was to renew the declaration of war on the German confederation! Much to Moltke’s dismay, the war would continue as hundred of thousands of French recruits and voluntaries would be drafted and offer legendary resistance in battles such as Coulmiers, Loigny, Belfort and the battles of Orleans. The book also offers complete orbats and a meticulously detailed account of the battles and the politics that shaped this second part of the Franco-Prussian War.

The Battle of The Frontiers, Ardennes 1914; by Terence Zuber. Published 2007 by The History Press in Charleston.

I was tempted to go for the “Guns of August”, but came across this more resent and interesting book on the first battle(s) of the Great War. With my interest in the Franco-Prussian War, I was surprised to see that infantry tactics had not changed dramatically, while artillery and automated fire had improved hundredfold since the days of Gravelotte and Sedan. The consequence of this unbalance would prove fatal to about 700.000 soldiers in the period of august and September 1914, as cavalry and formed infantry charged Vickers guns, and lessons learned would result in the stalemate of the later trench warfare.

Rossbach & Leuthen 1757, by Simon Millar.
Published 2002 by Osprey

The well known format from Osprey’s Campaign range, dealing in this case with these two defining victories of Frederick the Great. No further introduction is needed really. It will be a good read to get into the details on the battles and the orbats, which are always helpful when targeting units to paint.

PROJECTS LAID DOWN

Republican Romans: I've had to abandon this project, as other things came in the way, and since I'm more or less alone at the club on this period. Thus the collection containing wonderful 28's from Agema have been put up for sale here.

Bolt Action: We played a lot of these games about a year ago, but since then it has been taking the backseat to other projects. I painted two complete forces. One for the French and additionally for the Germans selecting the famous Fallschirmsjägers. For sale here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With all the above, my painting table seems set for 2015 with projects I look very much forward to initiating or in most cases continue my work on.

I thank you all again for your readership during the past year, and hope to see you again online in 2015.

Merry Christmas! - Recap of 2014

Napoleon & Roustam.

The miniatures are from Perry.

What better way to end 2014 than by finishing my first ever command stand of history’s no.1 All Star: Napoleon. In this case the “Corsican Monster” is trotting around the battlefield protected by his mamluk bodyguard, Roustam. I’ll probably do the “sitting on a chair at Borodino” command stand as well. I’ve got the Foundry minis for it since 10 years back, so it’d be a shame not to, but all that belongs in 2015.

View from behind - quite a saber Roustam is carrying around.

Perhaps the Mamluk equivalent of a doppelsoldner!

I’ll skip format and not give you a long write up on old Boney – although my love of all things French is perhaps well known to any regular readers. Instead I thought I’d take a minute to summarize 2014. What projects did I get into, what books did I read and what sites and museums did I visit during the past year. 

PAINTING PROJECTS OF 2014

The Danish Horse Guards, Battle of Lund 1676

The Scanian War: A late 2013 skirmish game project with Michael “Dalauppror” inspired me to read up on the Scanian War period. An interesting and dramatic time in Scandinavian history, with large battles fought between Denmark and Sweden over the supremacy of the North in the late 17th Century. With the great 28mm range from Warfare miniatures to support a larger project, Jesper, Michael and I embarked on a complete battalion based collection for the war. Later during the year, an opportunity arose to go and host a gaming table at the Danish gaming convention, DFFcon, taking place in the historical royal armoury in Copenhagen. Of course this just added to the motivation for painting. Michael, Jesper and I had a great time and the collection will probably expand, although at a lower output, in 2015.

French lignards and chasseurs skirmishing.

The Franco-Prussian War: In my opinion the mother of WW1. A big interest of mine, if not the biggest when it comes to history, and 2014 saw some great additions to my growing collection in 28mm. I also read some great books on the period, and managed to visit some of the key battlefields this year accompanied by my lovely and understanding fiancé. These visits really fueled my inspiration. History comes very alive when you’re standing on the actual spot where a certain charge took place or viewing and understanding the size of an area where a battle was fought.

The 5th French Hussars. 

Borodino 1812: A project started in 2013, with the aim to build a complete French and Russian gaming force for this behemoth of a battle, using my current favorite ruleset - Black Powder. Over the past year I managed to expand my collection with 5 units, of which my favourite would probably be the French hussars. When visiting Salute, I found a suitable model of the Great Redoubt cast in resin by Grandmanner, which I'm looking forward to painting up. At the same time the Perrys are constantly expanding their range, so this project is moving forward with good steam.

WW1 Imperial German Battleship, Friedrich der Große.

WW1 Naval - The Battle of Jutland: Speaking of steam. A late addition to the project list of 2014 perhaps, but a project that really took speed after the Scanian War project was parked after Copenhagen. Inspired by my friend Mark’s collection of 1/285 planes for Check Your 6, I ventured out of my comfort zone of 28mm, and into the wonderful world of WW1 naval modeling, using GHQ’s highly detailed 1/2400 range. This period and scale has fast become a personal favourite in terms of gaming, and I plan to expand both navies for my Jutland project in 2015. Mark is currently working on a US Navy intervention force inspired by the actual 6th Squadron send over to Scapa, and I recommend a visit to his blog – beautiful ships.

SMALLER PROJECTS IN 2014

Spitfires scramble during the Battle of Britain.

Check your 6: Great rules which inspired me to paint up a few Spitfires to pit against Mark’s Luftwaffe collection. We've played a few games during 2014, and I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to play more in 2015.

6 points worth of knights for the Trolle army.

Lion Rampant: Michael hosted a game and got me hooked on these simple and smooth running rules. We’re now a handful of gamers from our local club, each with a12 point army, and running more or less weekly games, mixing up our factions freely in big skirmishes. Great fun and perfect for a 2-3 hrs club night game.

Imperial pike block under the Fugger banner.

Italian Wars: Together with fellow club members Jonas and Michael, I started building a battalion based collection in 28mm for the period around the Battle of Pavia, 1525. I really loved painting the Pro Gloria minis, but was waiting for more releases to build my collection. Pro Gloria just got sold to Warlord about two weeks ago, and it looks like they’ll be speeding up the release process in 2015. Looking forward to picking up this project again when that happens.

BOOKS I’VE READ IN 2014

“Borodino and the war of 1812” by Christopher Duffy

The book really zooms in on the battle and that exact point in history. It gives a great account of each sequence of this great clash of arms, and I took a lot of inspiration for what units to paint from the detailed description.

“The Battle of Jutland” by Geoffrey Bennet

G. Bennet offers and interesting insight to both the tradition and mind set of the Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy. He treats the battle in a very useful step-by-step fashion, giving me as the reader a full understanding of why the admirals did what they did. Also, he skillfully recreates the drama of the initial encounter of the Cruiser forces, the climax of Jellicoe’s T-crossing maneuver and Sheer’s night action. It’s a great book on the battle, treating both navies and their relative gains from the battle with great objective fairness in the chapter “Who won?”. Recommended!

“The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71, Vol. 1; The Campaign of Sedan” 
by Quintin Barry

There are two books in this series. The first covering the initial Imperial part of the war, the second focussing on the desperate Republican part of the conflict. I really enjoyed reading this first book in the series, as perhaps the most detailed account I’ve come across on the war in modern publishing. Q. Barry is a methodical writer and each actions and responsible commanders are carefully analyzed to present an objective and detailed overview. The book also offers useful OrBats for the mayor battles of the campaign.

“Alphonse de Neuville; L’épopée de la défaite” by Phillipe Chabert

The book offers a portrait of one of France’s greatest military painters. It’s in French, but that shouldn't put off any period enthusiast. Even for those who don’t read the language, I warmly recommend it for it’s wonderful imagery on the Franco-Prussian War. The book accounts for Neuville's complete life but focuses on the later part, and his friendship and work with fellow master, Edouard Detaille.

MUSEUMS, CONVENTIONS &  BATTLEFIELDS VISITED IN 2014:

The old cemetery gate known from Neuville's painting of the battle.

The battlefields of Mars-la-tour & Gravelotte-St-Privat: I visited this historic site in mid-May, and the weather was mild and generous for walking the grounds. It was my first trip to an actual battlefield, and these two are really a great place to start. With the 2014 addition of the new museum on the Franco-Prussian War located in Gravelotte, the visit to Lorraine was a real success, and something I look back on as a turning point in my hobby and interest in the Franco-Prussian War. 

Napoleon's field furniture along with the famous grey jack and hat.

Musée de l’Armée; Les Invalides: Recently renovated to boast some great new technical details like multiple 80” screens in the floor telling the story of certain battles or conflicts. The rich history of France is carefully presented with a HUGE collection of uniforms, historical artefacts like Napoleon's uniform, hat and field furniture, and offers the visitor a complete coverage from pre-historic weaponry to WW2 and the liberation of France. It’s well worth the 10 Euro entrance fee. In fact, I admit I’d pay that just to gain access to the museum’s book shop.

The fields around Woerth bore many scars of war.

The battlefield of Woerth: Set in the beautiful hilly countryside of Alsace, only a short drive from the German border, this battlefield was really a fantastic place to visit. The post war German remembrance work on the big Franco-Prussian War battles, had seen the construction of a tall panoramic tower in the middle of the battlefield, offering a great overview of the complete area. The local townspeople were very friendly too, and we fell in conversation with an old lady in Woerth, who fetched the local church keeper to open the door at the village church, in order for us to view the memorial plates hung there in honor of all the fallen soldiers. Apart from an interesting history, Alsace also offered some great food and wine. All in all I think it's one of the best, and most overlooked, regions in France to go for a holiday.

D-Day display at Salute - huge and very very impressive.

SALUTE 2014: This show just seems to get bigger and bigger each year. This year I did myself the service of pre-ordering all my purchases, but with the huge amount of minor/new traders present, I must admit to a certain degree of spontaneous shopping as well. Most memorable from this year Salute was probably the unusually high quality of the gaming tables on display. A wonderful weekend in London, and something which will be repeated in 2015.

Beautiful WW1 table with 1/300 bi-planes from Shapeways.

DFFCON 2014: A great little convention held inside the Royal Danish Armory. There was about 10-12 different games of high quality, all open to participation. I got to try out some Samurai skirmishing, walk a tour in the museum, plus we enjoyed great interest in our hosted Battle of Lund table. As an added touristic bonus, Jesper and Michael got to try the Danish open sandwich specialty - Smørrebrød, which was consumed with much approval by the Swedes.

With that summary of 2014, I wish you, dear reader, a merry Christmas! Hope you’ll all have a great one, and find time to sneak away for an hour or two of peaceful solitude at the painting table during the holidays, I know I’ll be!

Thank you very much for your support and readership in 2014!